


been around a million stars (none of them shine brighter than you)

by gonnaliveforever (orphan_account)



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff and Angst, Love Confessions, M/M, halloween party
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-21
Updated: 2016-07-21
Packaged: 2018-07-25 14:27:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7536376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/gonnaliveforever
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Alright, alright, you've got me. I'll go with you. What are we going as?" Liam ends up relenting only because he knows Harry won't stop until he gets what he wants and he'll go to extreme lengths to prevent Liam from saying no. Smarter of him to say yes now, really.</p><p>Harry grins wickedly, and Liam knows he's done for. </p><p> </p><p>Or: Harry convinces Liam to match costumes with him for the yearly Halloween party.</p>
            </blockquote>





	been around a million stars (none of them shine brighter than you)

**Author's Note:**

> hiiii, I apologise for any and all raging typos. hope you enjoy!

"Mate, Liam, _c'mon_ ," Harry says into Liam's ear, nails scratching wonderfully through Liam's hair, a bit of desperation lingering in his tone. 

"You've come to me as your last option, Haz. I'm not really okay with that," Liam whispers through a haze of sleepiness, his words alluding Harry to how hurt he actually is without having to say it. Harry pets Liam harder at the realisation, deep frown etching its way onto his face. The lights flicker due to the raging storm outside; Liam has to take to Harry's flat in the meantime while the rain lets up so he can catch the tube back to his own flat and not appear a sopping mess with Louis and Danielle around. 

"Nooo." Harry shakes his head, thumb smoothing out Liam's eyebrow. "You weren't, swear it. Jus' didn't know how to ask you, is all." 

Liam's face contorts because, free-spirited social nymph Harry? Not knowing how to come to easygoing and always-wanting-to-please-others Liam? He's not half-convinced. 

Briefly, sunlight shines through the thin curtains in Harry's bedroom and frames his face in such a way that Liam swears he's an angel. He goes to tell Harry this, deep in his sleepiness, but the moment fades when Harry sneezes all over Liam's face and snorts one of those ugly laughs Louis makes fun of him for. He uses the end of his shirt to wipe any residue off Liam's face, petting him with the soft material and whispering, "there, all better," and then smothers Liam with the clean side.

Harry lets up only when Liam yells, " _mercy_ ," as loud as his beat-up lungs will allow, grinning down at Liam with a lopsided smile, making him seem years younger instead of the brilliant-yet-clumsy man everyone knows him to be. Something kicks Liam in the heart then, seeming like a bit of nostalgia, and Liam tucks it deep into his heart with a bit of regret. "Your face is all red." Harry's own scrunches up cutely, like he wants to get to the bottom of Liam's red face. 

He sits up then, quicker than he should've as his head swims a bit, and pushes Harry off the bed with one hand. Harry flails his arms as he falls and lets out a " _heyyyyy, that wasn't nice liam_ ," so resignedly that Liam actually leans overs the bed to check if Harry's okay only for Harry to grab at Liam's arm and tug him off next to him. 

"Alright, alright, you've got me. I'll go with you. What are we going as?" Liam ends up relenting only because he knows Harry won't stop until he gets what he wants and he'll go to extreme lengths to prevent Liam from saying no. Smarter of him to say yes now, really.

Harry grins wickedly, and Liam knows he's done for. 

 

The paint is cold and sticky on Liam's bare stomach and he can't help but shift as Harry tries to spread it as evenly across his skin he can, long fingers stroking over Liam in order to spread the paint out. 

"Urg, Liam," says Harry, pointing a blue finger at him threateningly. "Stop moving before I shove paint up your nose and in other uncomfortable places." 

"S'cold, though. Feels like you're spreading jelly all over me." Liam bites back a laugh at how weird of a description that was, ignoring Harry's not-impressed stare. Liam feels like he already has paint up his nose with how perfectly Harry's painted his face so no spots are showing whatsoever. He's glad Harry took an art course in Uni, because otherwise, this may have ended horribly. 

It takes Harry twenty minutes to finish Liam's body, Liam having to try very hard not to pop a boner when Harry's hands get a bit too close to his dick and with the way Harry's hands were rubbing up and down Liam's thighs, but thankfully awkward boners were somehow miraculously avoided. 

"We're going to win the contest tonight and Louis' going to hate us until next Halloween." Harry's own paint dried before he even began on Liam, so he's sat there poking at Liam's thigh every few minutes to see when it's close to being dry so he can add the gold glitter. He adjusts the ends of Liam's shorts so they're slightly over the paint and won't show any of his bare skin, and Harry kneeling on his knees in front of Liam surely doesn't do anything to him, really. 

And it's just, Harry looks so pretty in small shorts and blue paint with gold glitter and it does things to Liam. He's not really ever thought of Harry like this but now that it's started, he can't seem to stop himself. The small flecks of gold in contrast to the blue on Harry's face makes his eyes pop out beautifully and when he stares at Liam, with a grin specifically for him, Liam's pulse jumps. 

"Oh, the paint is almost dry. Let me grab the glitter!" Harry jumps up from his knees then so he and Liam are the same height, — albeit, Harry's slightly taller — going into the kitchen to get the glitter from the counter, — in which Liam swears he doesn't stare at Harry's bum, but he's only human — and hurries back so the paint doesn't completely dry before he can put it on. 

The glitter is easier to sprinkle on than the paint, and Harry's done in all of five minutes, stepping back to observe his masterpiece. He smiles so wide that his dimples pop, his eyes and nose crinkle, and his tongue presses against the back of his teeth. "Just one more thing," Harry says, disappearing into his bedroom. 

He comes back out a moment later with a small crown in his hands, and he places it on Liam's head so gently and carefully that Liam feels a little weak in his knees. Harry's hand caresses Liam's cheek a moment after, thumbing over Liam's cheekbone. 

"Harry," is all Liam says.

"There, perfect," Harry whispers, staring at Liam a little too hard, and that's when his phone starts to ring and Liam wants to break it, wants Harry to start touching his face again so Liam can kiss him. 

Liam steps back from Harry as Harry answers the phone excitedly to Louis, — they're leaving soon and are going to beat Louis, Zayn, and Niall's arses — because this night has become too increasingly confusing and Liam's head needs a break from it all, even if it's only for all of two seconds. 

The sound of Harry hanging up the phone brings Liam back to himself, and Harry says, "Ready to go, _Lee-yum_?" 

With a suddenly dry throat, Liam gulps and nods. "Yeah, let's go." 

 

Liam wants to punch Harry in the face.

A reoccurring thought and want with how long he's been friends with Harry Styles, but nonetheless still accurate all the same. He's dutifully trudging around the party in his costume, the best he can without smudging paint everywhere, and Harry's of course nowhere to be found. He's pretty tipsy too, — he's nearly knocked into people he doesn't know several times, almost crushed their friend Perrie, and smeared paint all over Louis' face — being left alone does wonders to Liam's ability to drink.  

Now, he wanders into the kitchen — more like stumbles — to get another drink. Their pretty friend Jade is there, keeping track of the drinks and when she sees Liam, she goes to throw her arms around his neck but stops when she sees the paint and waves a delicate hand in his direction. "Li, hi honey! You look good as a mermaid; or is it merman? Either way, you look fabulous. You came with Harry, yeah?" 

She's already mixing him a drink, bless her, and he nods. "Yeah, but I've no idea where he is, do I? He's left me alone after roping me into a costume like this to drink my woes away. I sound like Drake," he muses with a sloppy grin, sending a cheers her way when she hands him a drink.

"That's your last one," Jade says, pointing a manicured finger in his direction.

"But, Jade," Liam tries, sending the puppy dog eyes and what's known as his dreadful lower lip her way. It doesn't work in his favour. 

"No buts, Li. Put that awful thing away!" Jade presses her nail into his lower lip and he does what she says, unable to stop the slight pout from disappearing. "Stop giving me that look. I know 'bout your kidney, and before you say, — _shut up, jade. it's fixed._ — I'm goin' to let you know that I don't care. Now shoo, get back to the party you muppet." 

And then Liam's ushered out of the kitchen with Jade's small hand pressed to the small of his bare back, only for her to return to the kitchen after. "Great, at least you could've kept me company," he complains, eyeing the crowd of the party for somebody he knows, anybody he's even acquaintances with, really. 

After a bit of searching and a small amount of moping, he spots Louis and Danielle in the far corner of the flat and he thanks the heavens, because he was about to drink himself to oblivion if he hadn't had human interaction soon. He carefully maneuvers his way through the crowd and over to them, butting the round end of his trident into Louis' back. 

Of course, because it's Louis, he jumps and spins, plants his feet into a fighting stance and throws his hands up. When he sees it's Liam, he slaps him across the face and shakes his head. "Don't do that, Payno! I could've knocked you out." 

"Clearly," Liam says sarcastically and goes to rub his stinging cheek but remembers the paint and pinches his clothed-hip instead. 

"Where's your other half, then?" 

He ignores Louis' remark in favour of answering him. "Dunno, ditched me about a third of the way into the party and here we are." 

Danielle steps up besides Louis then and with a beautiful grin, places her hand on Liam's bicep. "Well fuck him then, Li. You look magnificent and you shouldn't let Harry ruin your night! If I weren't dating Louis—" 

"Don't answer that, Danielle," Louis spits, but is teasing, Liam hopes. Danielle giggles and pecks his cheek in an apology. Louis relents. 

"I wasn't interrupting, was I? It's just. I. I was proper lonely and—" 

"Liam," Louis says, which is weird, because Louis rarely calls him anything other than  _payno_ or something incredibly insulting. "If we didn't want you here, we'd say so. Stop worrying, yeah?" 

Liam breathes. Lets out a sigh and nods his head. "Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry, Lou. I just don't know what's up with me today, you know? Felt a bit weird all day and then with Harry ditching me, it's just. I dunno." 

"Speak of the devil," Danielle whispers under her breath and that's when Liam goes to turn around but Louis' arms on him stop him. He tugs Liam into him and gives him a hug, ignoring the paint and glitter that may squish into his shirt.

He tries to pry Louis off him, but he can't. "Louis, what are you—" He gets Louis off him then. Ignores Louis' _liam, no_ and turns around. His heart sinks and he drops the trident from his hand, because  _of fucking course_. Harry's kissing someone, has them pressed into the wall and his hand rucking up their shirt, blue plaint messing up their face and going basically everywhere. Liam can't get himself to look away, because, that should be him as fucking cheesy as it sounds. He thought he and Harry had a moment today, and it doesn't help that his heart decided to have a realisation that he's probably a little bit in love with Harry. 

"What the fuck," says Liam. 

"Li," Louis tries, but fails, because Liam's storming over to Harry with a confident glint in his eyes — he thanks the alcohol — and fists balled up. He hears Louis', " _fuck, get back here you drunk shit_ ," from behind him but he keeps walking, walking, walking, until he's behind Harry. 

It feels as though everyone in the room stops to watch them, but Liam knows the party is still going on around them, so he reaches his hand out to roughly tug Harry away, gaping when he sees that it's— "Zayn?!" He stumbles back, his hand and heart feeling burned. Zayn may not have known about Liam's recent proclaimed-to-himself love for Harry, but that doesn't stop the sting nonetheless. 

Both Harry and Zayn are staring at Liam a little helplessly, and Liam breaks. "I can't do this," he croaks, stepping backwards the best he can while staring at them. He closes his eyes and spins around, sprinting out of the party as fast as he can without falling over. 

He manages to make it a few houses down before he falls to his knees. Throws up on the sidewalk and goes to run a hand through his hand but his hand snubs the point of the crown and Liam accidentally cuts himself. "Fuck!" He goes to suck at his finger and then after he's done it, realises he's licked the paint. He knows it's non-toxic, but still, his night isn't exactly going well. 

There's a snap of a twig and Liam's head looks in the direction of the sound. It's just Jade, and Liam's shoulders sag. Not that he doesn't love Jade, it's just— "Hey, love. What are you doing out here all by yourself?" 

The corners of Liam's eyes start to sting and before he knows it, he's crying. Silently, because he's trying not to worry her, but his heart feels so heavy in his chest and he just wants to sleep. "Everything's all messed up." His voice is a bit wobbly, but otherwise, he's okay. 

"C'mon, then. Up and at'em. You're comin' to mine and we're going to let you take a nice shower to get all that gunk off of you, give you tons of water and some paracetamol, and get you in bed." Jade reaches a hand down to Liam to help him up and bring him towards her car. He has half a mind to warn her about her seats but she doesn't seem to care as she buckles him in. 

Thirty minutes later, they're back at her flat and Liam's not even sure he's ever been here, but it could be how much he drank. Jade gets him in the shower and it takes him a bit to wash all the paint and glitter off. Once he's sure he's got it all off, after a quick thought on how he's going to pay her back if he's run up her water bill, he steps out of the shower to a big, fluffy towel, and some clothes. They look like his through his drunk haze, and he's left wondering if Jade is a witch of some sorts. He gets them on quickly, though. Places the towel in the laundry bin and pads out to the kitchen, where Jade's sat having tea.

"Remember when I kipped at yours and Lou's flat in December when me heat was off? Sort of stole your clothes, but, y'can have them back," she says with a cute grin, and holds her hand out to give him the paracetamol. "Here, grab yourself a water bottle and head off to bed. I've half a mind to find that Harry of yours and kick his ass for hurting you." 

And Liam's reminded of why he loves Jade, and if he wasn't in love with Harry, he'd sweep her off her feet and take her to Disney. 

"Thank you," he says, gratefully, leaning down to kiss her cheek in gratitude. 

"Sleep," she reminds him, squeezing his hand and shooing him away for the second time that night. He makes sure to grab a water bottle first, though, taking the paracetamol and downing the water. He puts it in the recycling bin, bids a goodnight to Jade, and goes to bed in hopes that his heart will have recovered in the morning.

 

Liam wakes up with a massive hangover and remnants of the night before. He takes the paracetamol Jade's left him and downs the water. Pads into Jade's room and places a sticky note on her forehead to let her know that he's going home and he owes her one. Doesn't leave before he tucks her into bed and kisses her cheek.

With her living on the other side of London, he makes it home a little before ten and thanks the heavens he leaves a spare key in their mailbox in case Louis loses his — he's not lost his. he didn't bring it because he figured he was going home with louis — and needs to get in if Liam isn't home. He's not bothering to knock and see if Louis' home. Wants to be sure that he can get it. Takes the elevator up to his floor and rubs at the faint pull at his chest. 

He's halfway down the hallway when he sees a blue blob sitting outside of his door and he has half the mind to turn around and run. He's hungover, tired, and not ready to deal with Harry, but his movements cause Harry to look up and nearly sprint towards him when he sees that it's Liam. "Liam, fuck, you're okay—" 

"Hi, Harry," Liam says, a bit rudely, and steps around him to go and open his flat. Harry's hand grips his wrist and if Liam wanted to, he could pull free. He doesn't, and lets Harry turn him. 

"I was worried about you, you asshole! Louis had said you didn't come home last night and nobody had seen you since you stormed out of the party and  _for fucks sake_ Liam, I thought maybe you got mugged and shot or something! Your phone was off and, god. You scared me, okay?" Harry's thumb catches Liam's pulse point and Liam's free hand is shaking. 

"I," Liam starts, eyes lowering to stare at the ground. He really didn't mean to make anyone worry about him, he was just drunk and unable to care for himself. "i didn't think you cared," he admits, staring at the crust of the dried paint on Harry's leg. Harry's hand is rubbing small circles against Liam's skin, and Liam feels like he's on fire. "Thought you were busy with Zayn." 

"You're so bloody daft, Liam!" 

And, what? "Excuse me?" Liam rips his hand from Harry's grip and steps back from him, ready to run into the safe haven of his apartment. 

"No, Li, you're going to listen to me." Harry's hand catches Liam's wrist for a second time, in a tighter grip, and he tugs Liam back towards him so there's only a foot of space between them. They've never had much of a height difference so Liam's forced to stare Harry in the eyes. "For fucks sake. Zayn and I aren't anything! The reason I was gone for most of the night is because I was talking to him about how much of a crush I have on you. And yeah, I may have been a bit drunk and so was he, so we came up with this  _genius_ plan to make you jealous!" 

Harry steps into Liam's space then, licking his lips as his eyes flicker from Liam's mouth to his eyes. "I might be a little in love with you, Li," Harry whispers then, free hand cupping Liam's cheek, thumb stroking across Liam's cheekbone. "A lot in love with you, actually, if I'm honest." 

"Haz—" 

"Kiss already!" Niall yells from inside of Liam's flat, clearly standing against the door and staring out the peephole. Liam's face breaks out into a grin at how ridiculous his friends are, but he actually listens to them for once and kisses Harry. 

Harry's lips are soft albeit a little chapped, and Liam licks his way into Harry's mouth to taste him, needs to taste him. He tastes slightly of booze and also that coffee he gets from the bakery across his flat when he's not running late for work. Liam reaches a hand up to fist it in Harry's long hair, tilts Harry's head to the side and kisses Harry how he wants to. They kiss for a bit, before Liam has to breathe and he pulls back, resting his forehead against Harry's. "You're such an idiot," he tells Harry, sneaking a quick kiss because he can. 

"Is than an affirmation of your love for me, then?" He sounds so much like Louis for a second that Liam has to swat at him, but he tugs him in right after, Harry's warm hands sliding underneath Liam's shirt. 

"Oi, get your hands off me, you smurf! You've to shower and I don't want to have to shower for a second time in twelve hours." 

"But you can shower with me, and I'll scrub you clean," Harry whispers into his ear, his teeth grazing Liam's earlobe.

Liam grins then, tilting Harry's chin up to press a sweet kiss to his lips. "As long as you're by my side, I'm okay with that." 

Harry shoves Liam into the wall then, hard, and walks into Liam's flat yelling, "you sodding cheeseball," over his shoulder. 

He smiles and follows Harry in. He really wouldn't have it any other way. 

**Author's Note:**

> [tumblr](http://www.harryinphoenix.tumblr.com)


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